By Barbara Jorgen Nance

Many of us have gotten lost in the Canyon of Doubt at some point in our lives. To my knowledge, none of us were born with a roadmap that informs us as to which direction to go at every junction. The steep, daunting walls close in on us at times and we question our escape. Our doubt keeps us boxed up in the canyon. Tinges of fear arrive as the evening shadows darken our vision. We are living the mystery.

Kahlil Gibran wrote : GǣDoubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.Gǥ You need not fear the dancing dust devils along your path. They are not your enemy, but your teachers. They will clear the path in front of you. Have faith.

I pitched my tent deep in the shadows of the canyon and became a connoisseur of stillness. Sometimes you just have to accept the mystery that lies before you. But, often that is easier said than done. What am I doing in this canyon of doubt? I truly walked into this mystery on my own. Are the dancing dust devils going to teach me a life lesson? Does this mystery have anything to do with my 93-year-old Mom who now is only half in this world maybe half in the next? Yes, I'm sure it does. But, it's the doubt part that I don't fully understand. I looked in all the crevices of the towering canyon walls. Not one clue did I find hidden in any of the crevices. I am sure that doubt is the reason I'm stuck in this canyon.

The daylight is waning. The sun's arms cannot reach deep enough into the Canyon of Doubt to light my path. I already cannot bear the sun's absence. Thoughts seem to dangle from my hair. I doubt I can connect them together, so I must have faith instead. We are never alone, if we keep the faith.

The Hopi elders say: GǣWe are all in a relationship with our wild earth and we are all in the process of becoming earth.Gǥ

Ponder On.